Recruiter Technology, Why Recruiters Need To Embrace Technology

I have been in recruitment for over 15 years and am a true believer in the use of good technology within the recruitment process. This has led me to make it a mission to keep informed of what resources are being developed and made available on the technology front within recruitment.I have therefore conducted continuous and extensive research in this area and have been involved in developing software and tools specific to our industry.This brings me to an interesting topic which has come up time and time again during my research and discussions with numerous recruiters, I am sure all recruiters have discussed this in length and with much passion at some time. The replacement of recruiters and the recruitment process by technology!I have heard from some clients as well as recruiters that some feel our days are numbered, as technology, for example on-line job portals / boards, both general and in-house developed will soon replace us.These are my thoughts and findings on this issue: Technology is fantastic! A great resource for Recruiters and should be embraced with open arms.
Many recruiters are afraid of technology, they would still prefer to work with flip cards and say that anyone using technology is not a “Real Recruiter”!My experience is: ignore technology and “Real Recruiter” or not your business is doomed, it will not progress far into the future as a viable entity. You will be replaced.Technology is not a replacement for recruiters but a powerful tool to assist us, make us more productive, give us more reach, make us more competitive. We should (in fact must) welcome it as many other industries and professions do. How many accounting packages are out their that could and in many cases do “replace” accountants in certain aspects, yet the demand for accountants is still high.Why are we so insecure about our industry!I am aware that recruiters and the recruiting industry has taken a battering over a long period but one thing we can not doubt is that we are necessary, in fact essential! We too are always in demand – even if some folk like to tell us otherwise.I have had clients try their own portal / on-line database, only to realise how difficult the recruitment function actually is, mainly their own portals only bring about more work and less recruitment success, as they get piles of responses, many whom they can never use, but they still need to manage.
They generally come back for assistance, even if it is with their own portal as an additional tool.Recruiters should be getting in first, start using the excellent technology available, become recruitment technology experts and then use this knowledge to your advantage, sell your knowledge of recruitment technology tools to your clients, make it an added benefit to your clients.If clients want to use technology in recruiting we should encourage it and be involved in the process of decision making and choices as to which technology is most suitable. Introduce them to technologies using your expertise. This may seem like a bad business approach to those who feel they are in danger of losing their jobs to technology, but if you explain and demonstrate to your clients how a combination of the right technology along with a knowledgeable recruiting professional will produce the most desired results, then you maintain control, you lead the process, you are able to make yourself an indispensable part of the recruitment process.This is better then trying to persuade them not to use recruitment technology or just waiting for your business with them to possibly shrink as they find appropriate technology themselves or find a recruiting professional who is willing to guide them in this process.Developments in recruitment technology are inevitable and in fact very necessary to ensure our industry, as well as the market in general, thrives. We can not have archaic recruitment processes trying to keep up with modern market human resource demands.So, lets encourage more development by researching and using the tools and technology available to us, only by using the technology do we make it viable for the developers of these tools to continue enhancing and fine tuning to suit our requirements and needs. After all we are the recruiting experts and should therefore be the main contributor to how these systems operate.Technology will no more replace us then it will any other profession – unless we force it to!

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Diabetic Nutrition – Meal Planning In Action

Diabetic nutrition, diet, and weight control are the foundation of diabetes management. The most objective in dietary and nutritional management of diabetes is control of total caloric intake to maintain a reasonable body weight and stabilize the blood glucose level. Success of this alone is often with reversal of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes. However, achieving this goal is not always easy. Because nutritional agreement of diabetes is so complex and a registered dietitian who understands diabetes management has major responsibility for this aspect of therapeutic plan. Nutritional management of diabetic patient includes the following goals stated by American Diabetes association, Evidence-Based Nutrition Principles and Recommendations for the Treatment and Prevention of Diabetes and Related Complications, 2002:
Provide all the essential food constituents like vitamins and Minerals needed for optimal nutrition.

Meeting Energy needs

Maintaining reasonable weight

Avoidance of huge daily fluctuations of blood glucose level, with blood glucose level close to normal as is safe and practical to reduce risk or prevent the possibility of complications

Decrease serum lipid levels to reduce the risk of macro-vascular complication

For those diabetic people who require insulin to help control blood glucose levels, maintaining as much consistency as possible in the amount of calories, and carbohydrates ingested at the different meal time is essential. Additionally, precision in the approximate time intervals between meals with the addition of snacks as necessary helps in preventing the hypoglycemic reaction and maintaining the overall glucose control.For obese with type 2 diabetes, weight loss is the key treatment. Obesity associated with an increase resistance of insulin is also a main factor in developing type 2 diabetes. Some obese who requires insulin or oral anti diabetic agents to control blood glucose levels may be able to reduce or eliminate the need for medication through weight loss. A weight loss as small as 10% of total weight may significantly improve blood glucose. In other instances wherein one is not taking insulin, consistent meal content or timing is not as critical. Rather, decreasing the overall caloric intake assume most importance. However, meals should not be skipped. Pacing food intake throughout the day places more manageable demands on the pancreas.Long-term adherence to meal plan is one of the most challenging aspects of diabetes management. For the obese, it may be more realistic to restrict calories only moderately. For those who have lost weight, maintaining the weight loss may be difficult. To help diabetic people incorporate new dietary habits into lifestyle, diet education, behavioral therapy, group support and ongoing nutrition counseling are encouraged.Diabetic Nutrition Meal Plan
Diabetic Meal plan must consider one’s own food preferences, lifestyle, usual eating times, ethnic and cultural background. For those who are under intensive insulin therapy, there may be greater flexibility in timing and content of meals by allowing adjustments in insulin dosage for changes in the eating and exercise habits. Advances in insulin management permit greater flexibility schedules than previously possible. This in contrast to the older concept of maintaining a constant dose of insulin and requiring the a diabetic person to adjust his schedule to the actions and duration of the insulin.The first step about meal planning is thorough review of a diet history to identify eating habits and lifestyle. A careful assessment of weight loss, gain or maintenance should also be undertaken. In most circumstances, those with type 2 diabetes requires weight reduction.Diabetic meal Planning [The Making]In teaching about meal planning, you must coordinate with a registered dietitian and if possible he must use educational tools, materials and approaches so you can fully grasp the idea of your nutritional requirements. Your initial education approaches the significance of consistent eating habits, the relationship between the food and insulin and the provision of an individualized meal plan. Then in-depth follow-up sessions which focuses on management skills, such as eating at the restaurants, reading food labels and adjusting the meal plan for exercise, illness and special occasion. An instance like there is an aspect of meal planning such as the food exchange system which may be difficult to learn or understand. You may ask him every meeting for clarification or might as well, leave him a message. Just remember that the food system provides a new way of thinking about the food rather than a new way of eating. Simplification as much as possible grants a good understanding during the teaching session and provides an opportunity to assess doubts and a need for repeat activities and information.Caloric Requirements
Caloric requirements or your calorie-controlled diets are planned by means of calculating your energy needs (individual energy needs that varies in every person) and your caloric necessity based on your age, gender height and weight. Activity element is factored in to provide actual number of calories required for maintenance.In the Diabetic Exchange List compiled by American Dietetic Association and American Diabetic association 2008, the appropriate amount of calorie controlled diets are depicted but you must approach a registered dietitian to closely assess you with your current eating habits and achieve realistic and individualized goals. This is so important because practically, developing a meal plan should be based on individual’s usual eating habits and lifestyle to effectively control the glucose level as well as the weight loss maintenance. The priority for a young patient with type 1 diabetes, for example, should be a diet with enough calories to maintain normal growth and development. Initially, the target aim may provide a higher calorie to regain lost of weight.Here is a reliable and simple Food Exchange List For Diabetic Meal Planning I got from Diabetes Teaching Center at University of California, San Francisco via Google.Please Take note of all these and believe that there’s no harm in trying!Diabetic Nutrition Caloric Distribution
Diabetic nutrition in your diabetic Meal Plan also focuses on the percentage of calories that come from carbohydrates, proteins and fats. In general, carbohydrates have the greatest effect on blood glucose levels because they are more quickly digested and converted than other foods.CarbohydratesThe American Diabetes Association recommends that for all levels of caloric intake, 50% to 60% of calories should be derived from carbohydrates, 20% to 30% from fats and remaining 10% to 20% from protein. Carbohydrates are consisted of sugar and starch. Most of the carbohydrates that are generally consumed came from starch, fruits and milk. Vegetable has also some carbohydrate. All carbohydrates should be eaten in moderation to prevent postprandial high glucose level. Foods high in carbohydrates such as sucrose are not totally eliminated from the diet but should be taken up in moderation up to 10% total calories only because these foods are typically high in fats and lack in vitamins, minerals and fibers.Carbohydrate counting method is very important because it makes you conscious about your approximate amount of serving. The more carbohydrates you ingested, the more your blood glucose goes up. It is also a tool use in diabetic management because carbohydrates are the main nutrients in the food that influence the blood glucose level. This technique provides flexibility in food choices, can be less complicated and allows more accurate management with multiple daily insulin injections. When developing a diabetic meal plan using carbohydrate counting, all food sources should be considered. Once digested, 100% of your carbohydrate intake are converted to glucose. Around 50% of protein foods (meat,fish and poultry) are also converted to glucose. The amount of carbohydrates in foods is measured in GRAMS so you have to know which foods contain carbohydrates,learn to estimate the number of grams of carbohydrates in each food you eat and sum up all the grams of carbohydrates from every food you eat in order to get your total intake in a day. Examples of common food that contains carbohydrates; potatoes, legumes (e.g peas), corn, grains, dairy products (e.g milk and yogurt), snack foods and sweets (e.g cakes, cookies, deserts), and Juices (soft drinks, fruit drinks, energy drinks with sugar).Lets say, you aim 50% of your total calories must come from carbohydrates. One gram of carbohydrates is about 4 calories. So, divide the number of calories you want to get from carbohydrates by 4 to get the number of grams. Example, you aspire to eat 2000 calories a day and get 50% of calories from carbohydrates.Computation:
0.50 x 2000 calories = 1000 calories

1000 / 4 = 250 grams of carbohydrates

Take note that there are people who has lower tolerance of physical activity and there are also those who needs low-calorie diets and therefore, the carbohydrates need in every person really varies. In order to further master your caloric intake and your diet, feel free to contact a professional dietitian.In terms of estimation on the amount of carbohydrates in every serving, you can refer to Food Exchange List or here are some examples taken from the food exchange list:These Foods contain 15 grams of each serving:
Biscuit – 1 (1 1/2 inches across)

Bun (hot dog or hamburger) – 1/2 bun

Pancake (1/4 inch thick) – 1 (4 inches across)

Pita bread – 1/2 pocket ( 6 inches across)

Waffle -1 (4 inch square or 4 inches across)

Cooked barley 1/3 cup

Cooked Pasta – 1/3 cup

Cooked quinoa 1/3 cup

Cooked white or brown rice – 1/3 cup

Cassava – 1/3 cup

Corn 1/2 cup

Green Peas – 1/2 cup

Animal Crackers 8 crackers

Rice cakes, 4 inches across 2

Dried Apple 4 rings

blueberries 3/4 cup

dates 3

Fruit cocktail 1/2 cup

Mango juice 1/2 cup or 1/2 small

papaya 1 cup cubed (8oz)

Grape Juice – 1/3 cup

Although carbohydrate counting is now commonly used for blood glucose management of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, to some extent it affects the blood glucose to different degrees regardless of equivalent serving size. Thus, you have to be consciously noticing the fluctuations of your own blood glucose level and take action against any warning signs.Diabetic Food Pyramid
The Diabetic Food Pyramid is another tool use to develop meal plan. It is commonly utilize for those with type 2 diabetes who have difficulty in abiding with calorie controlled diet. The food pyramid is consist of six food groups: 1.Breads, grains and other starches; 2. Vegetable (non-starchy vegetables); 3. Fruits; 4. Milk; 5. Meat, meat substitutes and other proteins; and 6. Fats, oils and sweets. The pyramid shape was chosen to emphasize that the foods in the largest area, the base of the pyramid (Starches, fruits and vegetables) are the lowest in calories and fats and highest in fiber and should make up the basis of the diet. For those with diabetes and as well as the general population, 50% to 60% of daily caloric intake must be from these three groups. As you move up the pyramid, foods higher in fats (particularly saturated fats) are illustrated; these foods should account for a smaller percentage of daily caloric intake. The very top of the pyramid comprises of fats, oils and sweets that should be sparingly by the people with diabetes to attain weight and blood glucose control and to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.Fats and Diabetes
The recommendation regarding the fat content for the diabetic diet include both reducing the total percentage of calories from far sources to less than 30% of the total calorie and limiting the amount of saturated fats to 10% of total calories. Additional recommendations include limiting the total intake of dietary cholesterol to less than 30 mg/day. This approach may reduce risk factors such as elevated serum cholesterol levels, which are associated with the development of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death and disability among people with diabetes. The meal plan may include the use of some non animal sources of protein to help reduce saturated fats and cholesterol intake. In addition, the amount of protein intake may be reduced to those who have early signs of renal disease.Fiber Has a Lowering Glucose power
The use of fiber in diabetic diets has received an increased attention as the experts study the effects on diabetes of a high carbohydrate, high fiber diet. This type of diet plays a role in lowering the total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood. Increasing fiber diet may also improve blood glucose and decrease the need for exogenous insulin.There are two types of dietary fibers: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibers in foods such as legumes, oats and some fruits plays more of a role in lowering blood glucose and lipid levels than does insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is thought to be related to the formation of a gel in the gastrointestinal tract. This gel slows stomach emptying and the movement of food in the upper digestive tract. The potential glucose lowering of the fiber may be cause by the slower rate of glucose absorption from the foods that contain soluble fibers. Insoluble fiber is found in whole grain breads and cereals and in some vegetables. This type of fiber plays more roles in increasing stool bulk and preventing constipation.One risk involving the increase of fiber intake is that it may require adjustment of insulin dosage or oral anti diabetic agents to prevent hypoglycemia. If fiber is added or increase in the meal plan, it should be done gradually and with the actual consultation with a dietitian.Misleading Labels
Food labeled as “sugarless” or “sugar-free” may still provide calories equal to the equivalent sugar-containing products if they are made with nutritive sweeteners. Hence, for weight loss, these products may not always be useful. Additionally, you must ‘not’ consider them as “free” to be eaten in unlimited quantity because they may elevate your blood sugar. Foods labeled “dietetic” are not necessarily reduced calorie foods. They may be lower in sodium or have other special dietary uses. They may still contain significant amounts of sugar or fats. Snack foods with labels like “Health Foods” may often contain carbohydrates like honey, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Additionally, these supposedly healthy snacks frequently has saturated vegetable fats, hydrogenated vegetable fats or animal fats which may be contraindicated if you have elevated blood lipids level.So read the nutritional labels carefully to count the nutrients that your food contains… Sweeteners
Using sweeteners can be acceptable for the diabetic people especially if it assists their overall dietary adherence. Moderation in the amount of sweetener used is encouraged to avoid potential adverse effect. There are two main types of sweeteners: nutritive and non-nutritive. The nutritive sweeteners contain calories and non-nutritive sweeteners have few or no calories in the amounts normally used.Nutritive sweeteners include fructose (fruit sugar), sorbitol and xylitol. They are not calorie free; they provide calorie in amounts similar to those in sucrose (table sugar). They cause less elevation in blood sugar levels than sucrose and are often in “sugar-free” foods. Sweeteners containing sorbitol may have a laxative effect. Non-nutritive sweeteners have minimal or no calories. They are used in food products and are also available for table use. They produce minimal or no elevation in glucose level. Saccharin contains no calories. Aspartame (Nutra Sweet) is package with dextrose; it contains 4 calories per packet and losses sweetness with heat. Acesulfame-K (Sunnette) is also package with dextrose; it contains 1 calorie per packet. Sucralose (Splenda) is a newer non-nutritive, high intensity sweetener that is about 600 times sweeter than sugar. The Food and Drug administration has approved it for use in baked goods, non alcoholic beverages, chewing gums, coffee, confections, frosting and frozen dairy products.

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Where To Find Budget Travel Bargains

There is only one reliable place to find good budget travel and that is online. The internet has opened up a whole new universe of travel for those who are stuck on a pretty tight budget. Not everyone can afford to go on a month long vacation to the South of France but most of us can make good solid use of budget travel.When you do your travel shopping online you will find that you can afford much more than you thought you could. It is easy to find some good budget travel on the internet these days. All of the travel companies are throwing out some good packages for people with not much money to spare and some of the budget travel packages even include some meals. That is my idea of full service travel plans!When it comes to budget travel you do have to watch out for a few things. For example, what kind of trip do you want to take? When it comes to budget travel the airlines can vary drastically. Some of the budget travel airlines are great, they are friendly and they are clean and fantastic, others, well, not so much. You should take some time to research about the different companies you are considering for your budget travel before you actually book anything. This will make a huge difference in the kid of trip that you end up being able to take.Online you will be able to find all kinds of consumer reviews about budget travel companies, airlines and even cruises. Read through these carefully to find some great budget travel ideas. With these useful tips you will learn the best places to go for budget travel and the places and companies to stay away from in your traveling. There is no better, more reliable source for info than from people who have been in your shoes. They have nothing to lose by telling the truth so they do, they will tell it just like it is and that is what you need to help you make the right budget travel decisions.Chances are that if you do all of your planning and booking online your budget travel is gong to be even cheaper. This is simple to do as well. Most of the major travel companies have everything you need online and they walk you right through it all. And if you have any trouble just contact them and they will help you out. There is nothing simpler or faster than booking your budget travel online these days. That is why the business is booming the way it is.Each and every year the budget travel industry online grows and grows and it is not showing any signs of slowing down in the near future, that is for sure. So the next time you want to take a trip check out budget travel online and see where that takes you.

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